Sandra Hutchens

Sandra Hutchens understands when people ask to see the closet -- the office hideaway where her predecessor, disgraced former Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Michael S. Carona, kept a secret video recording system and a safe and who knows what else. It's just a closet now, cleaned out by Hutchens, who had a lot of metaphorical cleaning on her to-do list when she took over Carona's job in June 2008. The longtime Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy and division chief was comfortably retired in O.C. when her husband urged her to pursue the job that Carona, convicted on one count in a five-count corruption trial, was forced to leave.

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens announced Monday that she has begun chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer but will continue to actively lead one of the state's largest law enforcement agencies. During a news conference at department headquarters in Santa Ana, Hutchens said she was confident that she could still serve and aggressively combat the cancer. If she found that she couldn't handle the load, she said, "I'd make other arrangements. " Sheriff's officials said the department was notified of Hutchens' health problems about two weeks ago in a staff memo that was sent the day after she began chemotherapy.

With her tailored suits and thoughtful, confident demeanor, new Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens appears more like a polished corporate executive than a peace officer. But make no mistake about it: There's a lot of street cop in the new leader of California's second-largest sheriff's department. Hutchens spent the early years of her career patrolling violent inner-city neighborhoods south of downtown Los Angeles, arresting gang members, racing to assist deputies in danger and, in one defining moment, shooting and killing a man carrying a handgun.

Sandra Hutchens understands when people ask to see the closet -- the office hideaway where her predecessor, disgraced former Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Michael S. Carona, kept a secret video recording system and a safe and who knows what else. It's just a closet now, cleaned out by Hutchens, who had a lot of metaphorical cleaning on her to-do list when she took over Carona's job in June 2008. The longtime Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy and division chief was comfortably retired in O.C. when her husband urged her to pursue the job that Carona, convicted on one count in a five-count corruption trial, was forced to leave.

With her tailored suits and thoughtful, confident demeanor, new Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens appears more like a polished corporate executive than a peace officer. But make no mistake about it: There's a lot of street cop in the new leader of California's second-largest sheriff's department.

Newly appointed Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said Tuesday that she intends to review all the concealed-weapons permits that her indicted predecessor issued and revoke those of gun owners who can't prove a legal need to carry the weapons. When former Sheriff Michael S. Carona resigned in January to focus on his upcoming federal corruption trial, he had issued more than 1,100 active carry permits -- among the most issued by any sheriff or police chief in the state.

Just after Orange County supervisors selected Sandra Hutchens as the first woman ever to lead the county's troubled Sheriff's Department, Santa Ana City Councilman Carlos Bustamante sidled up to a conservative blogger with a joke. "I kept telling the chief," he said, referring to Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters, who narrowly lost the sheriff's job, " 'Maybe we should get you some implants. Or a water bra.'

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens on Monday unveiled a dramatic reorganization of the department that will consolidate such major services as operations and investigations and cut captains who oversee training and special projects. The changes combine similar services under one supervisor and increase the sheriff's role in overall operations. They are intended to help offset the department's $28-million budget shortfall. Over the last three weeks, Hutchens has personally informed each member of her command staff whether they will stay or go. Those leaving include Assistant Sheriffs Jack Anderson and John B. Davis, as well as Capts.

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens announced Monday that she has begun chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer but will continue to actively lead one of the state's largest law enforcement agencies. During a news conference at department headquarters in Santa Ana, Hutchens said she was confident that she could still serve and aggressively combat the cancer. If she found that she couldn't handle the load, she said, "I'd make other arrangements. " Sheriff's officials said the department was notified of Hutchens' health problems about two weeks ago in a staff memo that was sent the day after she began chemotherapy.

More than two years after Orange County's top lawman was indicted on corruption charges, voters will finally decide who should run the state's second-largest sheriff's department. After Michael S. Carona's arrest and resignation, county supervisors deliberately reached outside the department to name a successor. Sandra Hutchens, who had spent decades with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, was embraced as an "agent of change," a fresh face to lead a department that had endured years of upheaval.

With a decisive mandate from voters, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said Wednesday she is finally moving past critics who have characterized her as a liberal interloper out of touch with conservative Orange County. As she entered the department Wednesday morning, undersheriffs, lieutenants and secretaries burst into applause. "Welcome, elected sheriff," Undersheriff John Scott said. "Yes, remove the word 'appointed,' " Hutchens said. Hutchens took nearly 52% of the vote in Tuesday's election, defeating former Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Bill Hunt and Anaheim Deputy Police Chief Craig Hunter.

Appointed Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens was holding a hefty 2-to-1 lead in early balloting Tuesday over her two opponents in her bid to win the endorsement of voters to continue leading a department still recovering from scandal. In Ventura County, Sheriff's Cmdr. Geoff Dean was leading Chief Deputy Dennis Carpenter, and in an Orange County race for an open supervisorial seat, Fullerton Councilman Shawn Nelson and Anaheim Councilman Harry Sidhu led a field of six candidates.

More than two years after Orange County's top lawman was indicted on corruption charges, voters will finally decide who should run the state's second-largest sheriff's department. After Michael S. Carona's arrest and resignation, county supervisors deliberately reached outside the department to name a successor. Sandra Hutchens, who had spent decades with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, was embraced as an "agent of change," a fresh face to lead a department that had endured years of upheaval.

After Orange County's sheriff was indicted on corruption charges on 2007, supervisors made a point of looking beyond the county limits to find a replacement who was free of the cronyism and scandal that had tainted the office. A retired Los Angeles Sheriff's Department division chief, Sandra Hutchens was lauded by one county supervisor for being "removed from the political machinations in the county" and was seen as a welcome breath of fresh air in a department that had been led for decades by politically connected lawmen.

While Los Angeles County is releasing hundreds of inmates early because of budget cuts, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is trying to avoid similar cuts by importing hundreds of new detainees. She has won approval to negotiate with the federal government for the Orange County jail system to house more than 800 immigration detainees. In return, the county would receive $40 million a year -- money Hutchens said would be used to avoid cutbacks in the jails and possible layoffs of deputies.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department will lay off one of its highest-ranking officers as well as 23 professional staff members this month as it grapples with a budget shortfall of more than $50 million. Among those who will lose their jobs is Assistant Sheriff Michael Hillmann, a four-decade veteran of the LAPD hired by Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens to help lead the department in the wake of corruption allegations against her predecessor. Hillmann, 64, ran into controversy early on when he was caught sending text messages mocking activists and board members during a Board of Supervisors meeting early last year on the department's gun permit policies.

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens doesn't have a 2010 election opponent yet, but she laid out what appeared to be a blueprint Monday for how she plans to win voter approval. Using the end of her first year in office as the hook, Hutchens cited changes she made in jail management, said she had restored public trust in the office and would fire any deputy caught lying in so-called "code of silence" situations.

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens on Monday unveiled a dramatic reorganization of the department that will consolidate such major services as operations and investigations and cut captains who oversee training and special projects. The changes combine similar services under one supervisor and increase the sheriff's role in overall operations. They are intended to help offset the department's $28-million budget shortfall. Over the last three weeks, Hutchens has personally informed each member of her command staff whether they will stay or go. Those leaving include Assistant Sheriffs Jack Anderson and John B. Davis, as well as Capts.

As Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens outlined $21.6 million in department budget cuts -- including an unprecedented layoff of 42% of the command staff -- to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, she also warned that next year's budget would probably be worse. Hutchens will lay off six of 14 captains and two of four assistant sheriffs to avoid laying off 16 investigators and two sergeants. The move will save the department $2.2 million.